kblifeonice

2010

2010-01-08T04:05:00.000-08:00

I guess I am in an updating mood...

Happy 2010!!!

Its a whole new year and for the 2nd year in a row I am in the same place on the map that I started in last year. That doesnt happen for me all the time. I am still in Doha, Qatar and guess things are going ok. Still feeling like its my big girl life with big job, apartment, car, cable bill and dining room chairs. Its all very very different to me but so far so good. I feel like I am kind of sort of figuring out living here as much as a western female is allowed to figure out. I still dont know if I like it or if after 2 years I am still just confused by the whole place. When living in the islands and people would ask, do you like it....well thats an easy YES, but when people ask me that about living here....I guess I still dont know.

Things I know for sure that I like about living here:

working with people from 70 different countries
having more of a real job with nice benefits
being close to other places...as in not at the bottom of the planet or a remote island

Things that make me crazy and want to move away:

driving
being constantly stared at and often followed
difficulty of the most basic things...getting something fixed or delivered is impossible
the sense of "entitlement" that I guess only the super rich have...and this is a country full of the super rich. It definitely bugs!!!

Its has seemed in the past that at New Years times, I was usually getting ready to make a big move of some sorts. This time I am feeling kind of settled and am thinking more about vacations than actually moving continents. Its just different.....

So for 2010, I am hoping to take a couple of trips....possibly a live-aboard dive trip, maybe another swim trek and probably a trip to the US at some point. I know those are not boring things but I guess its the being sort of "settled" thats feeling a bit boring at the moment.

Quick trip home

2010-01-08T03:55:00.001-08:00

Got to make a quick 2 week trip home to Oregon
Mt. Bachelor
Happy to be skiing on a real mountain and not in a Dubai mall!

Got my peeps to represent!!!
4 year old Ray Ray showing me how to use my computer!
The family celebrating Christmas Eve at the local Irish bar!

Dad and his annual work of art, the "pole tree"

I used miles to upgade to first class and I was really suprised when I was the ONLY one up there!! I had the whole cabin all to myself!!!
Momma and her 65 balloons!!!

Coconuts, Camels and Cheetahs!

2010-01-08T03:38:00.000-08:00

I dont know how it gets to be 2 months later but...here is a brief update!!!

Still in crazy old Doha which I think I have said before is half in 1810 and half in 2010. My good friend Julie came to visit for a couple of weeks and below are some of the things we got into to.
Local man at the old souqs, old men sitting in wheel barrows is a very common sight there!
gold, gold and more gold and then some gold!
We found a Christmas tree!
Got to spend a night in Dubai catching up with Rudy
Me & Julie out in the sand

a cheetah...seriously!!! Just driving by in the locals land cruiser. The guy then decided to actually follow us to my apartment. Then the security guard gets distracted by the cheetah so the crazy man gets to come into the building. Quality!!!
McDonalds....same same in every language!!
Where I work
JoJo & Bits at the Saudia Arabia border
So the Burj Arab is "the worlds first 7 star hotel"....or something like that. We figured out a way to get inside and this is the pool we found.

We are mall skiers!!!
Just curious if Ikea is the same in Dubai as it is everywhere else...it is.

Salalah, Oman

Swimtrek in Malta!

2009-10-03T03:57:00.000-07:00

Just had an awesome trip to Malta with Momma where I got to do a Swimtrek.

Swimtrek is a company that organizes long distances swim and provides all the boat support and guides. We were based on the island of Gozo and then each day would swim to other islands or around the coastline. There were 7 swimmers from all over and over 5 days of swimming we swam 15 miles and crossed and 2 channels.
Mom & I on the ferry back to Malta, covering the same 5 miles I had swam just a couple days earlier!
The uniform
Local fishing boats
One of our swims we swam into "Popeye's" Village. Its the town that was built for the movie, it was fun to swim in and its this whole crazy looking town.
The "Crystal Lagoon"

We had 3 groups based on speed, I was a yellow (slowest)...but no matter to me, I was just happy to be out there swimming!

The islands around Malta have numerous caves that we were able to swim in and some of them we could swim through. Really awesome!!!
This was the end of our first swim and then we would eat lunch on the boat and jump back in to swim another section of the coast.

A nice place to spend my birthday!!!

Our base hotel in Gozo
2 of us had a birthday!
Momma in Malta

A little comparison

2009-08-22T04:03:00.000-07:00

I was just thinking about the difference in the diving conditions in the locations I have been living for the past 10 years. Here is a brief comparison!

Johnston Island

Walk to marina

Take very very short boat ride to dive site

as easy as it gets!!!

Marshall Islands

Ride bike with dive gear to marina

drive nice boat out to a variety of choices...literally hundreds of choices on where to go for GREAT diving!

Antarctica

Drive a "pisten bully" to a little hut

scrape fresh ice off the dive hole

descend down an ice tunnel

see penguins on the way home

When divers done, take extra clothes and jump in ice water just for fun!

Qatar

Drive SUV through sand dunes to dive site

Walk through trash

See wild camels on way home

Suprising things I have recently learned...

2009-08-22T03:06:00.000-07:00

Wow, its been 3 months since I posted anything here....still in crazy Qatar, working and it seems like every day I learn something new that just about makes my jaw fall wide open.

Here are the most recent lessons learned:

Some Muslim men don't shake hands with females! This was the first time I have ever encountered that.
To some hardcore religous, its not ok to sit next to a Muslim guy if you are female....
The standard wages for a live in maid to work 12 hours a day 7 days a week are: $202 per month!!
Its very common for families to be arranging the marriages for their daughters.
Its impolite to open a gift in front of the person who gave it to you!
64 ounces of Tide laundry detergent costs: $31.92
Momma camels are very mean if the baby is nearby.
A driver can actually refuse to drive females around and will put a sticker on his car if he wont take them.
I was asked what religion I wanted the guy coming to fix the TV to be. I had to have them repeat that to me a few times. They wanted to know if its ok to send a Christian to fix the TV or should it be a Muslim. WOW! That one got me, I just said no matter to me...whoever knows how to fix the tv is fine.
You can actually go to jail for eating or drinking in public during Ramadan.

and yes, I learned all of these (well not the jail bit) first hand and probably the hard/embarrassing way!!!

Here are a few recent pictures

Me the executive!!! who woulda thought...

JoJo on his very first ever ocean dive.
yes you sure can burn raviolis!

the awesome pool that's just steps from my office!!!Parking lot of the beach....nobody cares, they just throw their trash wherever!
Me and my new ride!!!

Momma & Baby CamelThe worlds most expensive laundry detergent!!

Thoughts on life in Qatar

2009-05-15T03:31:00.000-07:00

I have been in Qatar for 16 months now and some days I really like it and others I wonder what the heck I am still doing here.

I started to list what I like and don't like but then realized, they are the same thing!

Here are some of my thoughts/observations on living in this country, its a mix of living in 2009 and 1809...most days are a combination of both.

I like I am seeing Qatar being built up for the first time, this country is roughly 20 years behind most developed places I have been
I like that you can stay in a 5 star hotel but be served camel foot for dinner
I like that its part old world and part new world, often in the same buildings/businesses. However I don't understand why government offices are still using typewriters!!!
I don't like the driving, traffic, drivers...all that goes with that
I dont like the summer heat & humidity, May-October is INTENSE!
I don't understand what to me seems like arrogance in some of the locals. If they have to wait for something forget it! It drives me crazy when you see them pull up in their land cruisers to a fast food restaurant that does NOT have a drive through. They will sit in their air conditioned cars and blare the horn until somebody comes out to serve them. I don't get it!
I don't like that my apartment does not have an address and if I want something delivered it takes hours of trying to navigate the non English speaking driver through a series of landmarks to my apartment.
I also don't understand why some of the streets have a name but not all of them. Seems to be about half and half.
I don't understand how the answer "Inshallah" is ok for everything.....like is the plumber going to fix the sink? Inshallah.
I don't understand the sponsorship system...it seems like slavery in many ways and your employers really own you and even keep your passports!
The price of gas is cheap but laundry detergent is super duper expensive...I guess just because we are sitting on a mountain of gas and not detergent.
Its funny that there is a Baskin Robbins on every single corner!
I like that there are the old fashioned jobs, the people that ride the elevators with you, deliver groceries (if you have an address), make photocopies for you, open the doors....that stuff all feels old fashioned to me.
I find it strange that they still advertise for arranged marriages in the newspapers and that if you read the classified ads for a car it will tell you if its been "lady driven".
I was shocked that when my friend I went to a restaurant, he had to ask in Arabic if ladies are allowed inside! (I was allowed in and even seated in my own air conditioned room!)
I have been very shocked at what you learn about our neighbor, conservative Saudi Arabia. I was shocked to recently have read about an 8 year old little girl was denied a divorce from a 40 something year old man! Just this week I read this headline, "Saudi judge approves wife slapping". Something about if the wife spends to much money then its legal for the husband to slap her, this was actually in the same article as information about domestic violence!!!
I like the pride of the Qataris but I dont like how the Indians, Phillipinos, Bangladeshis & Sri Lankans are treated....they work for slave wages, many of them earn just a couple hundred dollars a month!
If you have money here then it could be a very cushy lifestyle, the locals have figured out the pampering lifestyle and I think really want Doha to become a 5 star destination.
I really like going to the movies here, instead of popcorn you can get a bowl of real hot corn.
I like all the different nationalities that are here, in my new job there are people from over 50 countries working there.

Just my thoughts....I think one of the biggest things keeping me here is that still after 16 months I feel like I have no idea whats going on, like there is still more to figure out.

Come visit, its an interesting place!!!

its really been 2 months??

2009-04-11T03:31:00.000-07:00

Lots of changes since the last update!

The biggest is that I quit my job and have moved into downtown Doha.

The last time I posted anything I was interviewing for a job with Qatar Foundation www.qf.org.qa well I GOT THE JOB!! I am very excited about it and thrilled to be out of my other job. I have not started yet, the hiring process is a bit extreme. Its been nearly 2 months now and I think I am getting closer to a start date. I have felt like I was on the Amazing Race trying to get all the proper stamps, signatures, approvals etc...Definitely the hardest I have ever had to work to actually get the job. I didn't think anything could beat the hiring process for Antarctica but Qatar makes that seem like it was so easy.

So for now, I am chilling in Doha car shopping, apartment stuff shopping and gearing up for the next step.

I have even had visitors here in Doha! Jenn & Christina were here for 3 days on their way to Africa and then my Dad was just here for 2 days on his way home from Africa. So awesome to see them here and show them a bit of this very unique city.

Yesterday, I took a drive to the KSA (Saudi Arabia) border. I just wanted to see what it looked like...which was really just a heavily guarded border crossing. I didn't stay to long as I am sure that a girl driving with an expired residency would have gotten me in all kinds of trouble

This is Jenn gone Arab

Had a lunch party for Jenn/Christina with my Bangladeshi & Filipino Friends

Moni, Afsar, Ali, Bastey, Bits, Christina and JoJo

me and JoJo

I had bought a bottle of water in the grocery store and the cashier didn't have change. So she gave me the gum instead of change back. I just thought it was funny!

Hopefully now that I wont be working 84 hours a week, I will have more time to update this site. I would also like to start working on writing a book...I feel like I have a funny story in me that needs to come out.

a little polish

2009-02-07T04:44:00.000-08:00

I am trying to get a job with the Qatar Foundation.

I have had to 2 interviews with them and my very good friend JoJo has gone with me both times. He gets dressed up in his interview clothes and sits in the car while I am in the meeting.

While I was in the interview he drew this picture of what I looked like going inside.

Burning Man....Bangladeshi Style

2009-01-24T03:51:00.000-08:00

I have gotten to know 2 bangladeshis who work at the pool. Its a country I knew nothing about except that its to close to India and seems to have lots of floods. I have a had a great time getting to know these 2 guys, Ali & Afsar. They constantly crack me up with what they say.

Because of the big change in US politics this week, they have been very excited about Mr. Obama. The day after he took over, Afsar kept saying "today, Mr. Obama work and Mr. Bush sleep". Ali thoughts on it were "good job mr. obama, happy day for world".

Anyways, this bit of information is out of the Burning Man newsletter but in honor of my 2 crazy broken English Bangladeshis I would put it out here.

About Bangladesh--The Bangladesh Festival begins on January 29th and lasts one month. The theme is freedom and features a conference on Nelson Mandela and Noam Chomsky. This is an important event, as Bangladesh has suffered enormous repression in recent years and the EXPO is really oriented towards social commitments, peace, and political harmony in the world. Bangladesh is about 95 percent Moslem and used to be known as East Pakistan. Freedom of expression will be an important part of the expo and Burning Man certainly represents a unique opportunity to demonstrate that. Bangladesh is kind of out of the way. There's very little tourism and travel there is not so easy, but I invite people to come and see it.

a bit more Cayman

2009-01-15T04:41:00.000-08:00

the closet was pretending to be the fireplace so we had a place to hang up the stockings.

Southern Stingrays

Seven Mile Beach.....so pretty!!!

This is Rum Point and where we spent Christmas Day

Greg representing Qatar!

dad & greg fish

dont let the snorkel vest fool you, mom was out there kissing the stingrays!

Scuba, Sliding and Skiing in a Snow Globe!

2009-01-12T05:11:00.000-08:00

Just returned from a fun filled vacation where I got to scuba dive, play on the water slides and snow ski! All 3 of my very favorite things.

Spent the first half with the family in the Cayman Islands. We swam, snorkeled, played with the sting rays, scuba dived, ate and drank well and really just had a great time. Christmas Day on Grand Cayman

great to dive with my brother!

The diving in the Caymans is nice...very healthy coral, great conservation laws, mellow and easy. No insane currents, great visibility...made it hard to get lost underwater, no hungry tiger sharks....seriously easy. Not once did I get back on the boat just thankful to be back on the boat and also that the boat was there. I guess it takes some crazy and super difficult dives to appreciate the easyness of diving in the Caymans.

After a great time in the Caymans I came back to the middle east. I spent 4 fun filled days exploring Dubai.

This is the Wild Wadi Waterpark which was really really fun! They have this slide that connects 11 slides together, so you are sliding for a really long time.

In the back ground is the Burj Arab which is the worlds only 7 star hotel. Dubai seems to have some sort of world title on just about everything.

Wild Wadi has 2 of these flowriders, so you can practice catching waves.

Dubai has some insane shopping malls, in the "Dubai Mall" there was a very HUGE aquarium that had everything I had just seen diving in the Caymans and more.

Ski Dubai!!!

Why not go snow skiing while in Dubai. This was really amazing, the "mountain" is in the shopping mall and very much like skiing in a snow globe.

You seriously just cut through the food court and you are at the ski area. I had seen it on TV so thought I would just check it out, but once I got there I knew I had to try it out first hand. Then I thought I would do 1 run....well 2 hours later I was racing up and down the hill as fast as I could to get in as many runs on my lift ticket as possible.

After you get your lift ticket, you move to the next line and they give you your ski suit which is pants, jacket, socks and gloves. Then you stand in the next line for boots and skis, they set your bindings while you stand there and then you are out the door. You ride an escalator with your gear to the entrance and collect your poles. Then you leave the warm desert air for a cold mountain slope.

My favorite was seeing the local Arabs skiing in their long gowns with a parka over them. sorry...no pictures of that.

The mountain had 2 quad chairs, a poma lift, rope toe, inner tube hill and a snowboard park. You could get off at mid mountain or go up to the top for the "steeps". Good times!!!

I am back in Doha now and think the next adventure will be a safari in Uganda in March....stay tuned.

little local

2009-01-01T08:34:00.000-08:00

This little guy was all business!

He was all dressed up and on the phone. I think he was about 3.

mustachio and beard face

2008-12-05T08:20:00.000-08:00

I was just curious what I would look like with a mustache & beard....now I know.

sand for days

2008-12-01T05:33:00.000-08:00

This is the land of sand, camels, insane wealth from oil/natural gas and obvious signs of becoming more and more western. The same guy who owns a camel farm and has 4 wives will also have 2 Ferrari's and probably own a Starbucks or a Hagen daaz.

This is Sema who is married to an old Johnston Island friend of mine I ran into randomly here. She is a professional photographer here in Qatar and she took all these pictures on this post. Sema is also from the town in Turkey I was born in. We have these things in common but we have never met!

The Old Souqs and one of my favorite places in Doha

These are not on every corner yet but I thinks that's where its heading...

Good Job Obama

2008-11-27T07:08:00.001-08:00

Obamas big win was celebrated with my friends Ali, Afsar and JoJo. They are from Bangladesh & the Philippines and they were very very happy that Obama won.

In the words of Afsar "Obama good for world"

When I asked the guys how we should celebrate Afsar & Ali decided that we should have Dairy Queen dinner with sugar free energy drinks (because Afsar is diabetic) and talk about Obama.

So that's what we did....while we were eating I asked them what they new about Obama and while none of us new much, it was a funny conversation that was done mostly in broken english with some Tagalog, Arabic and Bangla mixed in.

This is Afsar having dairy queen dinner with Obama Afsar, Jo Jo in red and Ali

This has nothing to do with Obama or Dairy Queen...this is what I look like when I am to tired to swim but really really want to...at least I am at the pool.

why not go by camel?

2008-11-01T09:24:00.000-07:00

In the land where camels are still used daily I have rented myself a car.

I don't know how much a monthly car rental in the states is but I think it would be expensive. Here you can rent one for $500 a month and that includes all the insurance and unlimited mileage. Its much quicker, smells better and has better air conditioning than these smelly old camels! If I do end up staying here beyond January I think I will end up buying a car. It would be my first car in 10 years!!

These pictures were actually taken in Bagram Afghanistan and not Qatar...we don't have mountains but we do have lots of camels!

My life in lightbulbs

2008-10-21T08:51:00.000-07:00

seriously...light bulbs. who in their normal life even thinks about light bulbs for more than 2 minutes a year?

I can honestly say I have spent hours, seriously hours thinking, talking and writing emails about about light bulbs since I have been here in the bright shiny desert.

Here is the 30 step process that I went through to get light bulbs and I am happy tell you that after completing those frustrating 30 steps and 6 months of waiting well....the light bulbs are here. VICTORY!!! The lights are now back on!!!

Steps to get light bulbs:

1. I am told by manager to go get a bunch of light bulbs for recreation center
2. ask around and find out that light bulbs live at a place called Self Help
3. Go to self help and ask for light bulbs
4. Listen as they tell you they will give you 5 light bulbs only
5. kindly explain that the facility I am trying to replace them in has 416 light bulbs
6. Am told that to get more than 5 bulbs at one time I need to to the engineering office and fill out form # 332
7. I find the engineering office and ask for form 332
8. I fill out form 332 and am told our manager has to sign them
9. I take the filled out form and head back to our part of town to track down my manager
10. I get the managers signature and return to the engineering office
11. The engineers review my form and they approve it
12. I leave the engineering office with my approved, signed form
13. I now take my approved form back to self help in hopes of now getting the light bulbs
14. I am told to leave the form there to be reviewed by self help. If the form is approved they will contact me to pick up the light bulbs
15. I wait 1 week and don't hear back

16. I return to Self help and ask the status of my light bulb order
17. I wait patiently while 22 year old self help guy insists that he emailed a military guy who he thought was me about picking up the light bulbs
18. I explain that I am not the military guy that the guy is insisting he emailed about the order
19. I finally convince mr 22 year old that I am a separate light bulb order from military guy
20. I watch as 22 year old finds my original order
21. I take deep breaths as 22 year old explains that the form was not signed in the correct location by the engineers
22. I don't bother to ask why they could not have told me that last when when I dropped off the form
23. I take the form back to the engineering office to get signed again
24. I listen patiently as the guy who is supposed to sign the form explains that they don't need his signature again
25. I smile really big and ask him to just sign in it anyway
26. I take double signed form back to self help and let 22 year old approve it again
27. I say thank you as he says 'we let you know something in a couple of weeks'
28. I leave self help assured that we will never see another light bulb again
29. I drive back to rec center thinking of ways to get solar energy to the video games, televisions and computers

30. VICTORY!!! 6 months later, I was able to pick up 178 light bulbs. Now if I could just get the other 300+ that are needed for the facility. No matter...this feels like a victory in the world of the reddest tape possible.

Its about time!!!!

2008-10-21T08:06:00.000-07:00

Its been a long time since I posted anything on the site...

personal time seems to be non existent for me here in the giant sandbox. I can honestly say that I am very OVER having to work 84 hours per week. When you break it down after 12+ hours a day of work, 7 of sleep..that doesn't leave much for eating, showering, swimming, or anything extra.

I am actively on the job search and really really really want to find a job that I LOVE and care about. Something that seems to matter....

Here are some recent pictures of life in Doha
These are the old souks and probably my favorite place (except the beach) that I have been here in Doha.

This is the Qatar flag
Hard to tell much on the map but Doha is about half way down on the right. For perspective it only takes an hour or so to drive across the entire country.

34 floors up, a city view

While I was 34 floors up, I found a pool!!

The city at night

This is the City Center mall which is HUGE!!

Ramadan was the month of September and then the festival of EID was 3 days in October. This was my first Ramadan and I wanted to learn one new thing a day during Ramadan. Did you know that many Muslims don't allow their dogs to sleep in their beds? I didn't know that...It was cool to learn about it and something I really knew nothing about.

I still don't have any idea why all the religions fight with each other. Why is one religion better than another? Why don't Jewish people like Muslim people? Why do many Americans think Muslims are all crazy? I have no idea and I really think that would prevent me from ever picking an official religion.

I really do like seeing it all for myself and I have met people from so many religions that I both really like and also think are completely crazy.

updates coming soon....

2008-10-03T23:21:00.000-07:00

I am going to update soon...

Getting a driving liscense!

2008-08-22T22:33:00.000-07:00

I recently took my newly received Qatari residency and went to get a drivers licence.

Now...keep in mind that I really have not driven much in the past 10 years and that driving here is like Mad Max style. Seems like a smart idea huh?

So the driving "laws" here are much more like "ideas" than actual laws. They did not even have a licence program until 1986...so things are still in the "being worked out phase".

Regardless, off 4 of us went.

Step 1: You stand in line to visit type writer guy, however he speaks no English. So..you go back outside to find somebody outside who speaks Arabic. We were prepared and had brought a local guy named Ahmet with us. After typewrite guy and Ahmet worked out the cost then typewriter guy wrote our Arabic names on his 1953 model typewriter and shoo'ed us out of the building. Step 2: you go to a non marked little building with the most disgusting bathrooms this side of Calcutta to get your eyes tested.

Step 3: Once they determine that it makes no difference if you can see or not, they give you another form in Arabic

Step 4: You take all of your forms to yet another building that actually looks like a DMV. Common sense would say that you pick up a numbered ticket and wait for your turn. So the 4 of us Westerners did that but Ahmet decided that wasn't his plan and pushed his way through the line. 20 minutes later the 4 of us had Qatari driving license in our hand.

Now if they would just make a road map of the city...

When worlds merge!

2008-08-22T22:25:00.001-07:00

In the past month, I have run into 3 different people from my time in the Pacific islands. I love when your worlds merge!

I had one guy come up to me here in Qatar and ask if I rememberd him, I said no and then he told me that he was in a band that I had hired to come out to Johnston Island about 7 years ago!
This is a picture of friends from the Marshall Islands. Great to see Danny the "Ahi Slayer" out here in the sandstorm!!

22456

2008-07-16T02:12:00.000-07:00

22456 is the miles i flew on my vacation. apparently Doha is not close to anything.

The trip took me to the Bahamas for a stay at the super duper fancy Atlantis resort. Then to Oregon for some family time and a quick trip the country fair. Dad getting his cherry picking on!

me and tree man at the country fair
one of the best parts of the country fair are all the random parades that come through. If you dont know about the fair check out http://www.oregoncountryfair.org

Voodoo donuts in Portland is I think somewhat famous..you can get donuts that have bacon on them or coated in tang. You can also buy underpants and get married there!

good times with the family
great tree people at the fair
what i look like in multiples!

this was this was the view from our hotel room in the Bahamas

Mom & Dad on the BBQ!!

So...I am now back in Qatar...stay tuned for more from the sandbox

Same Same but Different

2008-06-14T01:07:00.000-07:00

Life in Qatar is not that different than life in Antarctica.

Its actually the same just different. I dont think things are meant to live here...just like the ice. Weather wise in Antarctica our most extreme weather condition was called condition 1. Today here in the sandbox we are having a condition 5. Which means that when you step outside you are greeted by an unforgiving heat and full blown sandblast. Its like somebody is pouring sand into a hot fan and putting it on full blast in front of you.

Here are some pictures that my friend Joey took this week. You can have a better idea of where I am day to day...

This week I got to see my old friend Joey from Johnston Island. She is living and working in Afghanistan and was passing through town on her way back from vacation. It was great to see her and get caught up, it had been 5 years!!
My cubicle

My beautiful neighborhood
This is the plaza, where we do most of our special events and its a hang out zone. Only problem is who wants to hang out in a 140 degree sand storm? Whey they didn't design an indoor place...who knows.
Thank goodness for a smart idea around here. The indoor pool!! This is one of the two pools and places that I do spend any free time I have.
The main recreation center and where I work...

12 days till vacation...

I am officially a resident of...

2008-06-08T03:43:00.000-07:00

Qatar. I am now an official resident of Qatar and so after 5 months of super strange residency requirements its official. The biggest perks to me are that I can drive and have Internet access. If you are born here in Qatar you get somewhere between $60,000-$80,000 USD per year every year as a stipend.

Life here is different and the middle east is very different than anywhere else I have ever been. The food, culture, scenery, laws...its all drastically different than everything I have been around. I am enjoying learning about it all. Its super duper super HOT here now, its been around 120 degrees by 9:00 am most days and it stays there till about 6:00 pm. I have no idea how people work outside all day.

Doha is a city under construction. It would be hard to find a building without a crane in it, on it or next to it. Doha had been in the running for the 2016 Olympic games but a couple of days ago it was announced that they were cut from the final 4.
Part of the old town...I really like the old town and when you arrive there its like stepping back in time. Which for Qatar was not that long ago (probably 20 years at most)

There are just as many wheelbarrows as there are cranes. You often see the workers sleeping in the wheelbarrows.

Out of old town and into modern times...a tricked out golf cart

Doha has its share of luxury hotels. This one is called Sharq Village and really is mind blowing! I think the cheapest rooms are $800 a night..but look how nice the pool is!

Qataris have money and the majority do not work. They spend their days shopping, eating, having kids and driving around huge cars & boats.

more cranes on top of all these buildings. Its like we are seeing the city be built for the first time ever.

Camels were replaced in 1986 for driving cars. I don't understand how they live outside here in the extreme heat, wind and sand without water!!!

fun for the tourists

me and a local
sand, sand and more sand

until next time...

Life in Qatar

2008-03-07T13:17:00.000-08:00

Just a brief re-cap of the past 6 weeks...

I am living in Doha, Qatar which is a very small country on the Persian Gulf. The country is very rich because of all the oil & natural gas that sit just off shore. There is an american presence here because it sounds that the Qataris are worried that big strong Iran (just across the sea) is going to try and take the oil from them. I dont know how I did this, but I seem to have gotten myself a job in the middle of a battle for oil. Funny that my role it in all is to make sure people are happy and having a good time while they fight it out.

A few things I have learned in the past 42 days...

It costs $11USD to fill up a ford explorer here, I think its about $50 in the states
They started driving cars over here in the 1970's and started a drivers liscence program in 1986
Camels are the national animal
Muslims can have 4 wives
I have had 2 proposals (1 with a ring)
Most Qataris dont work because they get a $60,000 stipend for just being here
They import all the workers from the Phillipines, Egypt, Nepal and Bangladesh

Many sites here are under old fashioned censorship, so I was able to find a sneaky way to get at this one..but it doesnt seem to let me change the colors or add any pictures.

Thats about it for now, the strange continues!

hearts, kb

Life in Qatar

2008-03-07T13:04:00.000-08:00

snowy glass bananas

2008-01-26T16:37:00.000-08:00

Well...I am going back to work, its been a good 14 months of playing around but time to come out of retirement and fill the bank account back up.

I have accepted a job in the country of Qatar (next to Dubai) and am currently in Houston learning crazy things. I have learned what to do if I get taken hostage, how to survive a camel spider bite, how to survive in 140 degree heat and my new favorite is how to put on a chemical attack survival suit. The common word of the week seems to be "survive".

This is a picture of "after" our training in the suits. We were taught by some military guys to put on and seal gas masks in a very timely manner and then put on this crazy banana yellow suit and accessorise the seals with duct tape. Apparently duct tape is the answer for everything!! After we were fully suited up we were "gassed" and then put through some jumping jacks, stretches and jogging. I am happy to say that I successfully sealed myself up in the banana suit and didn't feel any of the "gas". I must somehow be attracted to the opposite of everything. When I first moved to the central pacific I was living in Crested Butte, Colorado. (no ocean, very big mountains). Then 7 years later when I left the tropical island life I moved to Antarctica (freezing cold, very big mountains). Now..I seem to be heading to a giant desert where the summer temperature range is 100-140 degrees. Not sure what the opposite of Qatar will be but I am sure I will find it.

Today's sky reminded me of how the snow/ice would look in Antarctica when the big snow cats were out driving around on the runways.
Just thought this was pretty...its from the hotel lobby and all hand blown glass

Lipstick Convention

2008-01-26T16:25:00.000-08:00

I am in Houston, Texas with 4,000 Mary Kay Ladies, no joke!! They are the top sellers in the US and they are vicious in their pink & purple suits.

They are full of questions these ladies, the typical conversation seems to go like this:

"Are you with Mary Kay"
me: no
"You should be a Mary Kay Lady"
me: no thanks, I like to do other things
"Its a great way to make a living"
me: I am not that interested in lipstick
"Even when the economy is bad, you can still make great money"
me: Do you have a pink Cadillac?
"yes, and you get a new one every 2 years
me: Great, have a nice day
"Here is my card if you change your mind, I would love to help you set up a successful business

I am staying in a 1200 room hotel and there are 4000 Mary Kay Ladies crammed into most of those rooms. Today was a mass checkout and really amazing to watch the purple suit chaos.

Its a New Year!!

2008-01-03T16:42:00.000-08:00

I love that people read this and then write to me and ask why I have not updated the site.

I didnt plan to update as I thought I would be "staying put" for 6 months but...easier said than done. I have done something that I have not done in quite awhile and that is taken several short trips in the United States. In the past few months I have spent some time in Indiana, Florida, San Francisco and scuba diving up here in the Pacific Northwest.

sunset in Key West, Florida This is Vanessa and this is a great story! I was with my family in Key West, Florida and getting on the trolley to take the town tour and she was the tour guide. We worked together in Antarctica but had not kept in touch so it was a real surprise for both of us! If you are ever in Key West, she gives an OUTSTANDING town tour! (this just after I had ran into 2 other fellow Antarctica winterovers here in a Portland bar)

Mom and Dad as tourists
I always love a trip to the ocean
A few days after returning from warm Florida, I found myself with some friends up in the mountains at a hot springs. Snow Angel ready positionI made up a Christmas Eve triathlon for the family, this is momma in event #2 which she excelled in with her softball pitching skills.
Portland had a white Christmas for the first time in 17 years!!! We rushed out to take the picture before it had accumulated but it really did snow all day!Dad loving the snow and also loving his new blue furry pants and pink necklace
New Years! A few of us girls decided to take a last minute trip to San Francisco. The word for the weekend was LEGENDARY and we really had a wonderful time!

This is a self portrait from the end of the night....good times and I definitely rang in the New Year!

That's it for now but stay tuned because it looks like I will be setting off on another overseas adventure pretty soon....

happy new year and thanks for following my adventures

good old Antarctica

2007-10-01T13:35:00.002-07:00

A friend who is currently living/working in Antarctica sent me these recent pictures.

The first is an aurora and the 2nd is of the lunar eclipse that occured in August.

Scuba in the NW???

2007-10-01T13:28:00.000-07:00

I have been scuba diving for 8 years and I never thought about diving in the pacific northwest. I don't even think it entered my mind....well, I somehow stumbled into a great group of divers here and they invited me along for a weekend of coooold water diving. After a bit of hesitation I found myself at the dive shop trying on serious wetsuits and saying the words " I am going diving in cold water". The best part for me was that 3 friends were coming along for the experience. Rob & Alison are longtime tropic divers and this was going to be just as new to them as myself.

The diving was ok...we poured ourselves into large amounts of rubber and survived the 52 degree water temps!! I didn't mind the diving as much as I did wearing all the extra gear! In the tropics you are fine wearing shorts/shirt. Here in the NW you must wear either a dry suit or a 14mm suit, boots, gloves, and the worst part a tight thick hood.

"Sunrise Beach"

Rob, Alison, Me & Cindy
This was great!! We turned our weekend of cold into a reunion. Alison, Rob & I are all friends from Kwajalein. Alison, Cindy & I all spent time and actually were roommates in Antarctica at sometime. So it was so great to all be together and get caught up. Our "beach resort" had bunk beds and it was very familiar to being roomates on the ice.

Burning Burning Man

2007-09-06T00:04:00.000-07:00

I participated, survived and didn't die. I think that's what the t-shirt says.

I did have a wild, wild, wild week of mind blowing fun in the desert.

Burning Man is put on once a year in the north/west area of rural Nevada. This year there were 47,000 other crazies flying their freak flags for the week long festival.

Burning Man is many things, this was the 21st year of the event. Its a temporary city, its an incredible art museum, its a test of community to live together under harsh conditions, its a party, its a ton of work, its expensive, its a week of anything goes, its an experiment and its also the biggest leave no trace event in the world.

It was a different year....a few things happened this time that I had not seen in my previous trip to BRC 2 years ago. On Monday the man was burned down (5 days early) in a big case of arson. This was the same night as the full moon & the full lunar eclipse.

Thursday & Friday we got a reminder from mother nature that she also likes to play in the desert. She treated us to 65 mph winds/full white out conditions but then delivered rain & double rainbows for dessert.

Here are a few pictures from the week...

Dad trying some of the faux fur on and getting in the spirit. I think you will see pictures of him out there enjoying the craziness next year.

You have to have dust mask/goggles with you all the time. You just never know when you will find yourself in a storm.

In Antarctica this would be a "condition 1". It went from blue skies to a sand whiteout in a matter of minutes.

The dessert after the storm. This really was unbelievable, a double rainbow in the desert!!!

Some of the large performance art pieces out on the playa. These monkeys were swinging around the bars being powered by people pedaling stationary bikes!!
We were able to take this "art car" for a ride but it only went in reverse...night time is all about keeping warm, this year I took quite a bit of faux fur outfits
my address this year, we were on 9:30 & Arctic. The event is set up like a clock from 2:00-10:00 and then streets go from A-E and the names correspond with the theme of the year.
wind, wind and more windbefore a storm
after a storm

This was one of the most impressive pieces of art on the playa this year. There were 7 giant people sculptures representing each continents dependency on oil. The people shot fire out of their hands & mouths. The oil tower was 7 flights of stairs high and you could climb to the top. At the end of the week they set fire to the tower and it was the biggest explosion & mushroom cloud I have ever seen. This is Sabrina getting interviewed for gnome adoption. She passed and became the proud parent of Bobby Bu. I also adopted and now am looking after "Scuba".
This is Bobby Bu & Scuba
another impressive piece of art....its 2 real semi truck cabs somehow stuck together

you can really get and send mail from the BRC post office. although to get a stamp takes about 7 forms and a few hours of bribes. its very postal!!

this was a fun block long thing you ride your bike through....like a car wash of ribbons

The "Thunderdome" where people in bungee harnesses fight each other with Nerf noodles. You can stand on the dome structure and watch it...its really wild!!!
This is me and my good friend Sabrina trying to look tough because we are at the thunderdome. I think we did pretty good despite wearing pink & gold.
Dad hooked me up with food for the week! He made 7 meals and put them in labeled ziploc bags. I think people would pay him to take care of all their burning man food preparation.
It was definitely HOT, HOT, HOT. This was 5:00 pm and it was 131 F in my tent.

some more random art
These are two of my oldest friends with me, Tammy & Sabrina....this was Tammys 5th trip down & Sabrinas 6th.

The man burns...for the 2nd time in the same week!

Sunny Oregon

2007-08-25T17:09:00.000-07:00

I am in the suburbs of America. Its full of healthy dogs, kids, garage sales, people doing yardwork, shopping in strip malls, picnics and barbecues.

I have been here 3 weeks and have spent the majority of that time getting ready to leave again. This trip is short, only 8 days. I leave tomorrow to head to Burning Man in Northern Nevada for a week of wild times in the desert. If you have never heard of Burning Man then check out www.burningman.com and if you happen to be heading that way yourself then come say hello at the Astral Vortex camp on 9:30 & Arctic.

A few recent pictures of the happenings around Portland

This is Buttercup, she has a twin brother named Bruno. They are about 4 months old and will be HUGE!!
My good friend Julie "Sausage"...we have been good friends for 15 years!!
My roommates (mom & dad) painting a hat I brought home from Vietnam. I could not take a plain white hat to Burning Man, so they are getting it all ready.
My good friend Andee, we worked together on Johnston Island & Kwajalein. She happened to be in one of my favorite places for a few hours (the airport!). It was strange being there and actually parking a car and then leaving in the car. I am used to being the one who is flying out.
My change at Trader Joes was $7.77 and so I had to buy some lottery tickets.

This is my good friend Alison who lives in Eugene. We worked together on Kwajalein and were also roommates on the big dead continent of Antarctica. We had a fun night in the state capital of Salem (which if you switch the letters around is the word LAMES). We had a great laugh going to the capital building at 11 pm at night, sitting on the steps and pledging allegiance to Oregon while playing lottery tickets.

Off to Burning Man....come back in 10 days or so for some crazy pictures!!!!

BKK-PDX

2007-08-02T00:12:00.000-07:00

Its been a fun 5 month trip!!

People always ask "what was your favorite" so that got me thinking....and thought I would put down a few of the trip stats.

In the past 5 months we

visited 4 countries, 25 different cities/islands and slept in 35 different hotels

had fried rice for breakfast numerous times

learned how to ride a motor scooter

learned how to say hello & thank you in 4 languages

learned how to bargain over pennies in 4 languages

learned that "air conditioned bus" means bus with windows that don't open an 45 extra people inside & on the roof

got severe food poisoning 1 time

learned that everything in Asia is "same same but different"

learned that girls that look like girls are often boys

did about 60 dives in Thailand and a few in Vietnam

averaged about $30 USD per day (that is without any of scuba diving or additional plane tickets)

Thailand

time spent: 3 months

favorite towns: Pai (northern) and the islands in the south...they were wonderful!!!

least favorite: Pattaya

best diving: Similian Islands

worst diving: Pattaya & Ko Chang due to visibility

Laos

time spent: 2 weeks

favorite: Luang Prabang & swimming in the waterfalls

least favorite: Phonsovan/Vietienne

This was the cheapest country we visited

Cambodia

time spent: 2 weeks

favorite: Phnom Phenn

Vietnam

time spent: 1 month

favorite: Hoi Ann & Halong Bay

least favorite: the rest of the country

this was the most expensive of the 4 countries

Thats about it! It was a fun adventure and I am glad I had the chance to go. I am off to Oregon today via Hong Kong and dont really have a plan. Burning Man is the end of the month and then my calendar is pretty wide open!

Wheres next? Well....I am thinking the next big multi month trip will be more of Central America. Would love to go diving in Belize, see more of Mexico & Nicaragua

Its all Business

2007-08-01T07:13:00.000-07:00

Six years ago when I was in Bangkok I upgraded my return flight back to Hawaii. I went to the airport and was sitting on my backpack in the business class check in line. An employee came from behind the counter and and said "you are in the wrong line, coach is down there" and pointed. Well I very quickly whipped out my business class ticket and assured him I had read the signs and that I was in the correct line.

For this trip I also upgraded my economy seat to business class using frequent flyer miles. (well worth the 15,000 miles it takes). I am curious if I get the same reaction this time, I have the exact same backpack, same dreadlocks and all in all look like a poor backpacker and not somebody who fly's business class.

Full Moon Party

2007-08-01T06:55:00.000-07:00

The island of Ko Pha Ngan is world famous for its full moon parties. We have also learned they have 1/2 moon, no moon & after moon parties. Basically Ko Pha Ngan is a party with a moon theme 36 times a year.
We made the trek to the island for the July 31st full moon party. We were not alone, thousands and thousands of other people migrated on the beach. Because I didn't want to loose my camera we got smart and took a disposable so pictures will actually have to be developed. I hope places still do that...

This is the "before" picture, I guarantee you this was dramatically different to the "after" picture. I thought it would be a good idea to drink "3 buckets" and then get up early for a boat back towards Bangkok. This morning was rough and if I could have just flown off on my broomstick I would have. Instead I spent hours sitting on this pier in the hot sun waiting and waiting for a boat that "was just a few minutes late" to pick us up.

more pictures from the party soon, it really was a good and memorable time!

me + my sunglasses

2007-07-30T23:02:00.001-07:00

For those that know me pretty well will understand the urgency when I say " My sunglasses broke". I am never far from my sunglasses and they usually spend 16 hours a day attached to my body. I don't loose them, I don't break them for some remarkable reason I am able to keep a pair for years at a time. I consider them my most important accessory. Just in case you are wondering chapstick would be my #2 accessory in order of importance.

Yesterday, we spent a fun day out snorkeling around a national park off the island of Ko Tao. As soon as the boat stopped and they announced what time we had to be back. I dove into the water, you don't need to tell me twice that its time to get in. I just assumed everybody else would be thinking the same thing but as I dove in and surfaced, I was greeted with a large round of applause. Guess...they were waiting for somebody to be the first one.

Ok, now the point of this sad tale...when I jumped off the boat I had my sunglasses around my neck (as I always do in the water) but...the lenses fell out. These are the same lenses I had in Antarctica and so they are worn out and need to be replaced but I guess they thought there time to go was into the ocean. ( I don't blame them, it really was a beautiful spot).

When we got back to the hotel and I got into the shower, I had a great laugh as one of the lenses was stuck to me!!! I laughed, Sadie laughed and then we dealt with me being a pirate!!!

In this picture you can sort of see them around my neck without any lenses

Well...I cant go more than a couple of minutes without sunnies, so off I went to the store and this is what they had. This is what I am sporting until I get back to the states where I am sure I have a back up pair waiting for me.

Ko Pha Ngan

2007-07-30T22:58:00.001-07:00

We are currently on the island of Ko Pha Ngan or "home of the full moon party". We like 30,000 others have come for the party which is TONIGHT!!! Its a giant dance party on the beach of Haad Rin, should be a wild time!!

While waiting for the party, we got out to explore some of the beautiful water/giant rocks around the island (before the tragic loss of my sunglass lenses)
3 islands joined together by the sandbar
We are not staying here but I wish we were!! You can just jump right off the rocks into the water. Next trip....

Ko Samui

2007-07-30T22:39:00.000-07:00

I am back down on the other side of Thailand now and spent 5 days on the island of Ko Samui. This island itself was ok, reminded me of Phuket but....the best part and the reason I ended up stayed 5 days was the hotel. "The Jungle Club" was INCREDIBLE!!!

If 2 weeks ago I was asked what my favorite hotel ever was then my answer would have been "The Village" on the island of Pohnpei, FSM. However...this one is right up there. The cost was 600 baht ($17 a night) and that got you a super cute little hut, big bed, mosquito net, shower...so nothing fancy but the setting was unbelievable. Hammocks all through the jungle, million dollar views, wonderful staff, great restaurant/bar and one of those super fun infinity pools. It was so fun to lounge around drinking watermelon shakes and making friends with other travelers.

This is sweet little Sandy one of the hotel doggies

Sandy's brother having a scratch
Evening aerobics classes in the town
Our little hut, its seriously the cutest thing ever. Pretty basic, just a big bed, mosquito net and shower. This really was paradise!!!
This is my friend Sadie who I met while working/living on Kwajalein. She is here for a couple of months of traveling/studying and we met up to see Ko Samui & Ko Pha Ngan.

Here we are hard at work getting pedicures

One of the views from the Jungle Club pool
The restaurant/bar area of the hotel
The pool, that picture alone will make you want to pack your bags and get to Ko Samui
This is where I spent 5 days
This is smiley, happy Jack. I don't think the Jungle Club could function without him

The Ko San Road Experience...

2007-07-23T09:30:00.000-07:00

This has got to be one of the more famous backpacker hangouts in the world
pineapple on a stick, soooo good!!!

daytime on the road, once darkness hits the street becomes an all night party

pad thai and spring rolls, the cost is about 15 baht (less than 50 cents) The dreads are back!!! Its been 5 years since my public head shaving on Johnston Island and I have missed them since the moment they were cut off. (that's a whole other story).

If any of you have been to SE Asia as a backpacker then you have most likely made the journey to Ko San Road. Its a world of its own full of excited travelers of all ages from every corner of the world. Its a small street full that is full of life 24 hours a day.

When on Ko San, there are some things that everybody does:

1. You eat street food (banana pancakes, pad thai and fruit on a stick)

2. You get your hair dreadlocked or braided

3. You drink whiskey out of a bucket

4. You haggle over pennies with local vendors selling t-shirts and jewelry

5. You either make new friends to travel with or you meet up with people you have already traveled in Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos & Nepal with.

It seems like you either love or hate ko san road and I am sure there are many traveler who avoid this street at all costs. I am on the other side and enjoy the madness for a couple of days at a time. No place I want to live or even spend a week but its been a fun past couple of days.

You want maaassssaaaage?

2007-07-21T05:10:00.000-07:00

There is nothing easier to get in SE Asia than a massage. Sounds ok right? Could be worse things on every corner.

About 3 years ago I was on a short vacation with my friend Alison & her mom Kate in Phonpei which is a small island in FSM (Federated States of Micronesia). We had spent the day swimming & snorkeling and decided to get a massage. I had never had one before and was excited about it. I went to the massage hut and it when it was obvious to the girl who did not speak English that I had no other clothes aside from the swimsuit/shorts I was wearing we left the swimsuit on. Again, I had never had a massage and only knew they were supposed to be "relaxing". I layed on the bed and before I knew it she was on top of me on all fours pounding the daylights out of my back. The old boombox in the corner was pumping out the Phonpein version of the song "footloose". Not only was I not relaxed, I was very tense the entire time. The massage did not get any better and I could not believe this is what people had been raving about for so long. Safely back in our hut I told Alison about it and she assured me that was not a normal massage..

I have avoided massage since my experience in Phonpei.

fast forward to this past weekend:

As stated above, massage ladies are on every corner here in SE Asia. I was on the beach in Ko Samet last week and after being harassed about it enough I gave in and gave massage another go. I am happy to say that it was wonderful and I was so excited to be over my fear of them. So today, I decided to have another one and this time I decided to try an inside one as opposed to laying in the sand. After the price was negotiated (200 baht/1 hour) I was told to take my shirt off and lay on the table. Ok...the only red flag at this point is its a room of windows and 3 other tables. No privacy here, ok...I can get beyond that. I do as I am told and instantly the pain starts, I realize very quickly that this is going to be very different than the relaxing rub down I had on the beach last week. Now, I know there are different types of massage but I guess my thought was how different can the great one I had last week be from this hour of torture I am going through now be? The island are only 100 kilometers apart. Well, it was a long hour full of pain and I think I left more tense than I ever could have been going in. I think it was a combination of the pain, being 1/2 naked in a very open room and the other 5 Thai girls in the room having a great laugh over their conversations.

Unfortunately I think massage maybe one of those things that I want to like but just don't. Its joining the list along with yoga, raisins and jazz music.

or maybe I will just wait another 3 years and give another try.

Good times on Ko Chang

2007-07-19T04:24:00.001-07:00

I am currently on the island of Ko Chang which is on the eastern gulf of Thailand. Not far from the Cambodia border. This is a GREAT place and I could easily stay here for awhile. I like that its partly developed and the other half of the island is still untouched jungle. Its a jungle on the inside and then nice and beachy on the outside. Its full of cool little bungalows with jungle themed bars, hammocks and lots of travelers lounging about twisting up their dreadlocks or playing on the beach.
This is my standard tofu curry that I have eaten about 400 times in the past many months. However, this one was better because the serve the rice in cute shapes. I had 2 bears & a turtle in the 3 times I ate here.
These are the crazy girls I met on the boat ride over, Louy from Canada and then wild women Ros and Pats from the Caribbean/England.

I am a happy girl out on the water! We spent a day diving in Ko Rang which is a national park on the island.

But...I saw at least 20 big fishing boats, so not sure what the national park is doing except for making a profit from the illegal fishing they allow on a daily basis. Its to bad, they are absolutely ruining the underwater life with their giant nets. They are catching whales, dolphins, turtles, sting rays on a daily basis. When farang (non Thai people) try and do something like cut the nets or open the traps then often it results in somebody getting shot and killed over it.

I have definitely been in millions of swimming pools in my lifetime but I don't ever remember being in one like this. It is the kind that actually goes out over the beach. it was the selling point to staying at the hotel and just to make sure we stayed there, the hotel girl told us that the other day there were dead people on the beach (due to swimming in a strong riptide).

next stop: back to big old Bangkok for a couple of days to meet up with a friend and then back to the beach, most likely on Ko Samui.

Who invented the western toilet?

2007-07-14T05:09:00.000-07:00

I would really like to find out who invented the western toilet and thank him or her.

I have been here for several months now and have occasionally complained about but tolerated the excessive heat, monsoon rains, bugs, dirt, sleeping accommodation and just general daily corruption but the one thing that I really really don't like is the ever abundant squattie toilet. They are everywhere!!!

Chilling on Ko Samet

2007-07-14T04:51:00.000-07:00

Ko Samet is on the eastern gulf coast of Thailand. Not terribly far from Bangkok, so many Thais come here on weekends or for vacation. Its a nice place, very sunny, pretty beaches and not as sleazy as Pattaya or parts of Phuket. I will stay another couple of days and then move further east to Ko Chang to do a bit more diving.

This looks like a good job, to be the beach divider on Ko Samet.

What I did for 2 days....it was a really good book!!

Everything is better in color

2007-07-14T04:35:00.000-07:00

This is me being excited about finally figuring out how to change the colors on the blog.

Ko Samet

2007-07-12T04:53:00.000-07:00

I am now in the small island of Ko Samet, to get here you take a bus then walk to a boat, boat to a smaller boat, walk to a truck and then travel through a super muddy bumpy road to a small set of cheap bungalows.

These 2 kids were loving the bumpy truck ride. They are dutch but mom is Filipino They had a deep and meaning full the entire boat ride. Imagine being an 8 year old dutch kid on this random boat in Thailand and meeting another 8 year old dutch kid! How exciting for them!!!
Looks like a nice place to spend a few days!!!!

The reason I went to Pattaya

2007-07-12T03:48:00.000-07:00

This is a self portrait while wearing a blacked out mask. I was taking pictures as I was practicing being a blind diver. I spent a few hours with this mask on and got a better understanding of what it would be like to scuba dive/aseemble gear and just get around town without any sight.

A background story so you will understand what I did in Pattaya.

My two favorite jobs both out as volunteer positions when I was in college. The first was with Bend Parks and Recreation in Oregon. Mom and dad were paying the bills (thanks for that!) and I found myself with extra time and the itch to do something. I went into Bend P/Rec and asked to volunteer, I did exactly that for a few days when they called me into the office to ask if I would like to be paid for working. hmm....sure, I guess. Anyways, what that job did was it showed me that I could get paid to do exactly what I love to do which is play outside with other people!! It was a perfect fit and I quickly changed my college major from whatever had been written on my paper by some lady behind a counter to my new favorite word "RECREATION".

When it was time to get serious about finishing school a group of us from Bend found a college that advertised great skiing and a recreation program. We quickly made the move to Gunnison, Colorado. The well in the mom/dad bank had run dry but I found the instant money world of student loans. So again, I found myself with free time and wanting to do something....I saw a flyer up for the Adaptive Sports Center was looking for volunteers to ski with disabled people. I thought that sounded pretty interesting and so I went to the meeting and was hooked!!!! You can check them out at http://www.adaptivesports.org/

Long story huh?? ok, let me try to sum it all up. I volunteered/worked with the ASC for my 3 years I spent living in Crested Butte/Gunnison and absolutely loved, loved, loved the work, the people & the organization. I skied with people of all types of disabilities and focused most of my training to instruct people in a bi-ski. In early 1999 I left Colorado for a very small island in the central pacific, I thought I would be there 6 months and then return to Crested Butte and the ASC. Its been 8+ years and I have not been back to live in the US and aside from a weekend in Denver have not been back to Colorado. I have missed working outdoors with disabled people very much. I find it really rewarding and interesting, I love figuring out ways for people to be able to do things they love that they otherwise may not be able to do.

In the last 8 years I have become an avid scuba diver and have worked my way up the ranks to being an instructor. I remembered seeing some blind divers in a pool in Colorado once, so I started to look into that and found a program that I could become a certified instructor for disabled divers. PERFECT!! I am now hoping I can find a job that I get to do exactly what I love to do which is be out in the ocean and working with people who want to scuba dive and just need a few adaptations to be able to.

enough already....here are a few pictures from the past few days of my training

We spent the first day at the pool. I practiced being a blind diver, also a parapalegic and quadrapalegic diver.

This is "Slinky" my instructor. He was a PADI instructor before his accident left him in a wheelchair. He is back to instructing and it was great for me to learn from his first hand experience as an avid diver.

Thailand is not accesible! This pictures shows the stairs we had to come down to get to the boat, the distance from the stairs to the boat and then the stairs up the boat. I am hoping there are some places where its going to be more accessible! This is very tough for a wheelchair!!!

Thats it for the course, I wish I had some underwater pictures to share but I dont. It was intersting stuff and hopefulllly I will find somewhere to put to use what I have learned.

Jomtien Beach, Pattaya

I sat on the side of the road this morning waiting for my very late bus. I was entertained by this lady who was very meticously going through this dumpster. I dont know if she found what she wanted but she sure took her time sorting throuough the super smelly trash.

These guys!!! I was on truck taxi going back to my hostel and these 3 super super drunk polish guys got on. When they found out I was from America they went crazy!! Shouting "AMERICA is great, Bush, Poland loves America". This went on for 20 minutes. They were so drunk and so insistent that I understand how much Poland loves America. I missed my stop in the taxi and ended up at a restaruant with these guys. I left when the one in the middle was trying to give me his gun. He said because I was American I should have a gun.

I am a night writer (sounds like knight rider)

2007-07-09T07:15:00.000-07:00

I heart watermelon shakes!! These have been a staple of our daily eating patterns here in SE Asia, they cost about .50 and are wonderful!!!
I need a switch on my head...I swear I get all my best thoughts and ideas while I am either in the water or trying to go to sleep. Neither of which is convenient to getting them written down. I am pretty sure that last night I wrote the next Oprah book club pick and I even dreamed she was interviewing me about the book.

Anyways, I started this blog when I went to Antarctica and am now updating it as I travel. Because it was all about the ice I thought I would share a couple of friendly blog links. I had a few friends from Johnston Island and Kwajalein on the ice and one of them is Amber, she came down at Winfly (last August) and so we got to spend a few months together down there. Check out her site at www.amberonice.blogspot.com.

Like you do in these random remote places, I met some great people that I am hoping will be friends for life. One of my roommates (she was upper bunk) was Cindy O, she has done and is doing some interesting things and thought you might like a smart read about her travels (hope you don't mind Cindy!!) http://www.penguinsandpinkboots.blogspot.com/ She even has cool colors and all that on her site, I just cant seem to figure out the bells and whistles of blogging.

Anything goes in Bangkok

2007-07-09T06:52:00.000-07:00

A nice portion of local bugs will cost you about 20 baht, which is roughly 60 cents.

Bangkok is a wild place where anything goes at anytime of day or night.

I find myself liking Bangkok and am wondering why. This is my 2nd trip to Thailand and I am questioning my perspective. My first time here was in 2001 and I arrived in Bangkok after a very crazy trip with my brother to India & Nepal. I went to Bangkok to escape the martial law/riots that were going on in and had completely closed down the city of Kathmandu. As I left the city that day I saw bodies being carried to be burned. Anyways...my point is I don't know that there is anything in this world more shocking than Calcutta, so after being there Bangkok seemed like being in Mayberry, USA. This go around we have been through many other major Asian cities and I arrived in Bangkok from Hanoi which to me seemed like a circus (with puppet shows to go along with). So what I am wondering is if I arrived in Bangkok from Mayberry or Portland or Honolulu how would it seem. I have not met many people who do like the city, they say its dirty, loud, polluted, over populated, pushy, hot & even dangerous. I agree and think its all of those, so why do I like it? The only thing I can come up with is my perspective is totally jacked up!!

Pattaya is GROSS

2007-07-09T06:41:00.000-07:00

I am down in Pattaya for a few days to take my instructors course to teach people with disabilities how to scuba dive. I am only here for this reason and will be very happy in a few days when I can get the hell out of here.

I think the only reason for the town is so the bar girls can find white or western boyfriends/husbands/sugar daddies. You can actually book a girlfriend at the travel agencies and included in the town maps are the offices where you can go to get your sweetie a quick Visa so she can return home with you. We have seen this all over SE Asia but nowhere near the level that its in this town.

I am definitely getting a few strange looks...people are wondering why I am here. The majority of all the tourists are middle aged hairy white guys wearing to speedos.

Back to Thailand

2007-07-05T05:49:00.000-07:00

Well thanks to a rainy day in Bangkok you are now pretty well caught up on the past several months...I am back in Bangkok on my own. Our group has gone separate ways with Ariane back in Cambodia looking for work, Pip & Sally will leave Vietnam in a couple of days head to Vietnam.

My plans are to leave Bangkok in a couple of days and head south to dive. I found an instructors course that I can get my certification to teach disabled divers and am really excited about that. After that...not sure what I will do for 3 weeks.

I will head back to the states in early August to get ready for Burning Man. If you want to spend a week in the Nevada desert getting your world rocked by creativity then get a ticket and come along!! check out www.burningman.com

oh and I need JOB with a paycheck...so if you have something short term, high paying and fun then you just let me know!!

I forgot about Cambodia!!

2007-07-05T00:41:00.000-07:00

I forgot to put Cambodia after Laos and before Vietnam. We spent 2 weeks in Cambodia and saw Siem Reap, Phnom Phenn and the beach town of Sinoukeville.

Cambodia was great and we both really enjoyed our time here. In fact Ariane liked it so much she is trying to move to Phnom Phenn. I liked it but not enough to deal with the traffic and heat on a daily basis.

I wish I had some pictures of the drive to Vietnam from Phnom Phenn, but the camera was out of comission for a few days.

I have no idea why I cant put these pictures in order. I guess it doesn't matter to you though.

Sinoukeville!! This is the beach I got the worst jellyfish sting of my life. I have been stung several times, so that says allot! You are trained to put vinegar on a sting, but here in rural Cambodia they had no vinegar so I spent 8 hours rubbing limes on my arm. 1 month later I can still see the tentacle marks on my arm!!

The cows are so skinny and eat trash because there is no grass. I have been doing the vegetarian thing on this trip and this is perfect picture as to why.

gotta do the super corny senior picture! It was fun trying to explain to an Aussie what the hell senior pictures are.

We spent a day on "Bamboo Island". It was great, nobody selling anything, no jellyfish, no kids...perfect!!

One of the markets in Phnom Phenn...you can buy anything. diapers, swords, velvet paintings, pirated movies...absolutely anything!!

The boardwalk along the river in Phnom Phenn...It looks nice but you do get non stop hastled to buy crap from street vendors. Also a big place for prostitutes to find there western guys.

more markets

locals..

We spent a day going to the saddest museum I have ever been to. Some of you probably know about it and I am sure many like me had never heard of it. Its called the Tal Slong Museum and its all about Polpott and his years of killing innocent people not that long ago. Its insane and I am sure I dont understand most of it. I was shocked to learn this happened in my lifetime. He basically turned a school in the middle of the city into a torture chamber for anybody he thought was educated and also their families.

Today the school is a memorial museum to those he tortured. I think it all ended in 1980. The most shocking thing to me was to learn the US knew about it. Why did they let it go on???

Our first stop in Cambodia was to Siem Reap and to see the temples of Angkor. It was incredible to see them and I just kept wondering how they built it. I would love to have dinner with who ever thought it up, its soooo creative!!

Sunrise...we actually got out of bed at 5:15 am and rushed in a crazy tuk tuk to get here in time to see the sunrise over the most famous temple "Angkor Watt". it was worth it!!

This is "honey" who was our tuk tuk driver and was one of the highlights of the country. He invited us to meet his whole family in a small village several hours from Siem Reap. Unfortunately we did not meet up with him, but it was nice to be invited.

Vietnam

2007-07-05T00:21:00.000-07:00

Vietnam....so much can be said.

Lets see...its a very long country and getting in between cities takes tremendous amounts of time and patience on the bus, its very historic and is also communist. We spent nearly a month here, began by meeting up with Ariane sister Pip and her friend Sally in Saigon/Ho Chi Minn City and from there we worked our way north eventually arriving in Hanoi. We did half the trip on the bus and got over that quite quickly. We opted to fly the last 2 legs that saved us 30+ hours on a stinky, hot and slow bus.

I found Vietnam to be strange and honestly I was quite disappointed. I hate to say that but it just wasnt what I was expecting, thinking or hoping it would be. I wont actually type why I didn't like it because many of you have probably been and do really like it. I did think there some great things and my favorites included the town of Hoi An, diving, and seeing the beautiful Halong Bay.

We started in Saigon then went to Dalat, Nha Trang, Hoi An, Hue, Hanoi & Halong Bay. We saw most of the country, the girls went to the Mekong Delta but I was sick and skipped it. I also did not make it to Sapa in the NW corner, but I had more than my fill of Vietnam and was ready to get out.

Some of the pictures are in order but most are going from the North and go south, so opposite of what we actually did.

Typical Halong Bay "Junk Boats"

Floating Villages

"buy something from me"

family time

This is Pip, Ariane younger sister and whom we traveled with on and off in Vietnam. This was her first big trip on her own out of Australia and as you can see...she is pretty excited about it!!

We spent 2 nights in Halong Bay, 1 on a boat and the other in a little hut.

Here is our hut! Its good the bridge was there because the tide actually came all the way up to it. This was a great hut, definitely the nicest one we stayed in on this whole trip.

It poured so hard, it was fun watching the Australian girls be amazed by the heavy tropical rains. They have grown up in a drought in southern Aus, so they were wanting to bottle up the rain and ship it home.

On the way back to the piers, the seas were sooo rough and everybody was sick. 1 toilet and lots of sick people. rough ride!!

Me trying to not get sick...it was tough between the rough seas, other sick people and heavy diesel fumes but I made it!!!

About the age when kids start working in Vietnam. This little girl was a fruit seller on her family's boat.

A group of Vietnamese students who were very interested in us.

The view from a cave mid way up the cliffs

The docking system in Halong Bay. As an avid water/boat person I was so surprised to see this. I have been taught that at any cost you avoid actually hitting other boats. Here in Vietnam its the opposite, hit them and use them as much as you can. In this system to get on and off the boats, you just do a boat hop from one to the other until you are where you are trying to go.

When I was coming back to our boat after a shore swim, I did what I was told and hopped in between boats. Only to find myself in the kitchen of a boat full of Koreans that was leaving. I dont know who was more surprised, them to find a token American girl or me to discover i would be spending the night with them. Luckily, one of the crew realized I looked out of place and had me crawl out the kitchen window to another boat.

Hanoi: I had a few other pictures here but they seem to have disappeared. Hanoi is the capital and I thought it was much nicer than Saigon. We stayed in the Old Quarter and it was fun walking around the maze like streets. They have specific streets for specific things, so there is a lantern street, a bamboo street, foam street etc....pretty neat way to set up the city. My favorite thing we did here was going to the water puppet theater.

The lake in the middle of the old quarter

serious motorbike traffic...it just goes 24/7 and all directions. If you think you are on a 1-way street you are most likely wrong. There does not seem to be any organization to it, you just go.

amazing what can be carried on a little scooter!

A store worker..seriously!! We went to buy water and this little guy came out holding 2 2 liter bottles of water for us.

This guy was incredible...and we are not sure where he came from. We were walking around the town of Hue and Ariane flip flop broke. Out of nowhere this guy appears, hops a fence, finds another black flip flop, hops back over the fence and in about 1 minute has replace her entire strap. Really was incredible!!

Hanoi

Very common sight in all of Vietnam

another very common sight all over SE Asia

This is the town of Hoi An which was my favorite town in the country. Its full of little alleys with art shops and good restaurants.

The prefered way to get around Hoi An

We spent a day out diving

It was great to try diving in Vietnam. The diving was ok, saw a bunch of small things but its nowhere I would think of as a great place to dive.

Another very typical site, a woman out working in the fields

traffic at any hour of any day. It never seems to change.

This was one of the nicest people we met in Vietnam. This was in the town of Dalat and she is the owner of the "Dreams" hostel...if you are ever in Dalat, Vietnam you really should stay there. It was probably the nicest hostel we have stayed in on the entire trip.

Saigon or Ho Chi Minn City...a city with 2 names, it was our first stop in Vietnam and I was sick so didnt see much. Did spend a day out looking at this crazy house. Its like a fun house that used to be a hotel. Just strange...I guess it paved the way for the rest of the country to be strange.

Laos

2007-07-04T23:39:00.001-07:00

Laos is quite a country to meet it seemed to be a combination of beauty, overwhelming heat, 3rd world, rugged and sort of grasping at the tourism straws that surrond it with its neigboring countries.

We spent 2 weeks here and covered Vietienne, Vang Vieng, Phonosavan and Luang Prabang. There is only 1 road in the country and getting between places is no joke. We sat through some very long and windy bus rides. The majority of the locals seem to get car sick, so they puke in a plastic bag and then chuck it out the bus window. 8 hours of this is really unbeliavalbe!!!

Tubing in Vang Vieng was FUN!

This little swindler name is Lynn and is 5 years old. In perfect english she asked me my name, how old I am, where I am from...all the important stuff to use in demanding me to come to "her bar". Very sad...these little kids are put to work from the day they can walk. Her job was to pull tourists off the river and bring them to her familys bar. When we refused she then belted out a series of bad words at us. She is 5.

This was a day trip to float through some caves

Local Lao transportation. We opted for the local busses instead of the tourist busses because the windows open. Very important when everybody is getting sick.

From Vang Vieng we took a side trip (8 hours out of the way) to Phonosavan. This is a town that went through quite a bit during the Vietnam war and was severely bombed by the US. Interesting place to be an American....We spent the time here looking at these weird jars that nobody knows for sure how they got here.

Luang Prabang, this was my favorite stop in Laos. We really enjoyed our time here swimming in waterfalls, shopping at the great night market and just enjoying not riding a bus for a few days.

This was also our first sighting of the Mekong River (I think it was...now, I dont remember if we saw it somewhere else).

us, not sure if the self timer was working. The waterfalls here were incredible, probably the best ones I have ever swum in. We spent 2 days here and it would be a reason to go back!

Our final morning in Laos, we got up early (no easy feat) and fed the monks their daily food. They go around towns at 6:00 am to collect all the food they will eat during the day. We handed out sticky rice and bananas.

Lampang & Udon Thani

2007-07-04T23:18:00.000-07:00

In the most of Thailand, its the rainy season...we didnt bother to actually read anything about where we were going before we arrived in the country. Oh well...wearing a plastic bag all day does allow the clothese to stay clean and one less day of doing laundry.

We went to the town of Lampang, which is WAY off the tourist route. I think we were the only western people in the town. We spent the time in the rain wandering around the local market and I tried to teach Ariane how to play chess.

frogs

From Chang Mai, we took a flight to Udon Thani. Flying costs very little and saved us 16 hour on a bus. Well worth it in my book. We are again off the tourist trail but came to Udon to try and find the house my dad lived in 35 years ago. All we had to go on was an old picture with no address, it had a "yellow gate". We walked and walked and walked and tried our best to find the yellow gate, unfortunately we did not find it. We did meet a couple of very nice people who tried their best to help us, and also laugh that at us for not having an address....

This is the minister of tourism in Northern Thailand. He is holding the picture that my dad sent me with, he tried so hard to help us and even asked his mom and her friends if the picture looked familiar.

We also met these 2 local police guys, who also tried to help us. They said if we had a street name they would have been all over it. They were very proud police man but were not able to locate the gate in this massive city for us.

Our last hope...we had them translate "do you know where this gate is" in Thai. The first old lady I showed it to had no idea and then when I showed somebody who spoke both English & Thai she laughed. Because the translation actually said "do you know where the boys dorm is". good stuff!!!

Downtown Udon Thani, its a really nice town. Very different than when my dad was living there but we were really glad to have gone and spent 5 days seeing the sights. Its not touristy at all and again we were the only westerners there.

next stop is Laos

parts of Thailand

2007-07-04T22:09:00.001-07:00

Introductions: This is Ariane whom I am traveling with. We met in a hostel in New Zealand and traveled together for a few weeks back in November/December. We kept in touch and then met back up in Bangkok a few months back.

First stop out of Bangkok was Kanchanburri. This is the Bridge over the river Kwai and is the main attraction in the small town.

Next stop from Kanchanburri was the 15 hour train ride to Chang Mai. You sleep in bunk beds with a fan...nothing fancy, but its quite a cheap and easy way to get up north.

Pictures from around the town of Pai. Pai was my favorite stop in Northern Thailand, we had a great time riding motor scooters, swimming and seeing the sights.

the bridge that connects our huts with the townhome sweet home, they costs 100 baht a night which is just over $2 local toilet

front yard of our huts

My first ever motorcycle driving experience!! We had such a great time driving around Pai for a couple of days. It costs $2 for 2 days with a helmet!

SE Asia Trip

2007-07-04T22:00:00.000-07:00

I arrived in LAX from Portland and as I was getting off the plane I heard my name being called! I always wonder if that will happen to me but on this day it did and there was my good friend from Kwaj & Antarctica Amber!!! She was here returning from New Zealand. So great to see her and catch up on all the latest Ice scoops!!

Another small world story right from the beginnning. I was typing an email and saw these 2 walking down the street in Phuket. We had met and hung out a bit in New Zealand several months ago!

This is where I spent my first month, sleeping and studying physics in the Lucky guest house #1R.

The town of Kata Beach

The Thai flag that flys on an old worn out dive boat

Calypso Divers, Kata Bach, Phuket

My new friend Yaniv, we were partnered up as dive buddies for our month long course. We got along great and I learned allot about Israel and the super duper strange world of the Israel Army. I was SHOCKED at what I learned.

I realize this is a bit out of order, my computer skills are a bit rusty. I am on a 5 month backpacking/diving trip in SE Asia. I spent the first month in Phuket, Thailand doing my PADI Instructors Course, I LOVED it and am so excited to get to teach people my favorite thing to do.

From Phuket I went on a GREAT liveaboard trip to the Similian Islands. The Similians is definitely the best diving in Thailand and I am so glad I go to see it. We stayed out 4 days/nights and did 16 really great dives. Unfortunately I dont have any underwater pictures to share, underwater photography is just something I have not gotten into yet.

From the Similians I went to Bangkok to meet up with my Austrailan friend Ariane, whom I had traveled with in New Zealand back in November/December. We hit the backpacker trail and covered quite a bit of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia & Vietnam.

The past 7 months...

2007-07-04T21:49:00.000-07:00

Hi ya and welcome back to following along with my life.

Deep thoughts: After living in very small/remote places for many years I don't find it strange that people watch and know details of my life. Many seem to know more than I do. I think if I lived in the real world I might find it strange, but I guess many years of living in a fishbowl, it seems natural for me to put my pictures and stories on a computer so that anybody with computer access can follow along.

The update: After the last post which was around the holidays, I took off to Hawaii for 6 great weeks of swimming, swimming and more swimming. I was so happy to be back in the ocean and I absolutely love swimming at Ala Moana Beach park. They have a great set up for long distance swims. After Hawaii, I made a brief pit stop back in Portland to do laundry and then hopped on a flight and headed to Bangkok. That's where the next several months take shape and I will post some pictures to follow along.

The many month update

2007-07-04T21:35:00.000-07:00

Hello, The original idea of posting pics/stories to KBlifeonice was to keep my family & friends updated on the happenings while surviving Antarctica.

Happy to say that has come and gone and I am going to try and keep this updated with my whereabouts and whatabouts....Standby for more adventures....

The Real World

2006-12-29T21:52:00.000-08:00

I have been back in the states almost 2 weeks now. We have celebrated my moms birthday, dads retirement and Christmas. I got my 1st real cell phone, have driven a couple of times and been here long enough to know I dont want to stay more than a few weeks.

People keep asking whats next...and the answer is I am leaving for Hawaii in a couple of weeks. I plan to spent about 6 weeks there playing in the water and will then head back overseas in mid March for about 6 months. Locations are still TBD but am thinking the trip will begin in Thailand and I will figure out the rest as I go.

Thanks for following the past year, and I will try and keep the blog going as I roam around the world in the next 8 months. (my goal is to be back and still have a couple bucks for Burning Man Festival in August). Then I will REALLY need a job, so go ahead and email me if you know of something that sounds interesting.

Happy New Year!

The cake means dad is officially unemployed, much like the rest of his family.

birthday girl!!

pretty NZ

2006-12-29T18:47:00.000-08:00

I spent 5 great weeks exploring New Zealand, I saw most of both islands and with a couple more weeks I could have covered what I had to skip. My travel advice is that if and when you go to NZ, give your self at least 1 month per island and more on the South Island if you can. I would recommend flying into Auckland and renting or buying a camper van, then hit the road and fly out of Christchurch on the South Island. Something like that....

This is my friend Nathan from Antarctica...we met up in Queenstown and this is Ariane, whom I spent 3 of my weeks traveling with. sorry I cant seem to rotate this picture around, its of a boat I spent a great night on the Miford Sound in. There were 5 of us out overnight...that is an amazing place for sure!!!
lots of dolphins in the Milford Sound

Mt. Cook
always nice to see a rainbow!

more of New Zealand

2006-12-29T18:21:00.000-08:00

While hiking through Able Tasman National Park, we saw these 2 guys carrying a Christmas Tree down the beach.
Spent a sunny afternoon in Franz Joseff painting rocks. Most everybody else wanted to go explore the snow and glacier.....I could of cared less to see any more snow & ice.
this was great, I saw a big group of people standing in line to see "Antarctica". I was pretty curious so I got in line and once inside, there were quite a few penguins and this guy making the snow for them.
I never did see this while in the real Antarctica, but this display in Auckland is nice.

Life Without Big Red

2006-11-22T14:59:00.000-08:00

I have been off the ice about 10 days now. Stepping off that plane was wild! It was dark, much warmer and you could smell flowers/rain.

It definitly took me a few days (ok maybe a week) to really believe I was off the ice. It seemed like everywhere I went the road was going to turn back into ice and everything would be white again.

Thankfully that has not happened, things are green, pretty and New Zealand is wonderful and also really set up for travelers!

I spent 5 days in Christchurch and then headed North. I am currently in Mt. Maganui on the North Island which is a neat little beach town.

Here are a few pictures of along the way.

Whale watching in Kaikoura, we saw 4 Sperm Whales, a pod of "dusky dolphins" and a wandering Albatross Huka Falls
self portrait while sitting on the ferry crossing from the south to the north island
the crossing...so pretty!!!
boiling mud near Rotorua

the harbor at Picton, south island

North is my new direction

2006-11-12T18:45:00.000-08:00

Today is a big day for me here in McMurdo.

After 286 days on the ice I find myself currently waiting for the giant C-17 to pull into town and pick me up. Today my favorite word is NORTH and not to be confused with SOUTH. Because it has warmed up a bit (very relative) there are many planes flying to the South Pole. I will be paying close attention to which boarding line I get in.

Here are a few random pictures from the past couple of days

This little Adelie wandered to the edge of town and hung out for a day These 2 friends are living up at Cape Royds which has hundreds of Adelies
My roomates....but not my luggage. I hope I never have 4 big black bags that all look the same. booooring! Me, Karen, Cindy & Susie + some random guys luggage
My friend Matt and I

The Americans have formed a Rugby team in hopes of beating the Kiwis in the annual match in January. I dont think most have any idea how to play but it was fun watching them try and figure it out.
Well, I am hearing my favorite word...NORTH and that means time to GO!!!

Thanks for following along on this crazy almost 10 months.

I hope to update this while traveling.

Yes, i want to get in the water...

2006-11-08T12:54:00.000-08:00

When the divers got out, I happened to ask if I could jump in. They seemed suprised but said "of course".

I had done the polar plunge during mid winter in June or July and I said if I had the chance to do it again I would...so here it is 5 days before i am leaving the ice and I got to go for another brief swim. looks inviting doesnt it?
in and out I went...very quick like
happy girl!
It was great to feel the salt on my skin again